Alphabetical Index of Articles on Women's Sexual, Pelvic Floor, and Reproductive Health

Learn how to adapt your training to maximise the health of you and your baby during pregnancy.

These pregnancy workouts at home will help you make the right decisions for you and your baby when it comes to fitness, exercise and training. 

We have also included a week by week guide to training during the first trimester, alongside advice about the benefits and other factors to watch out for. 

Before You Do Pregnancy Workouts at Home

This is a guide, so you should always consult a professional coach that can help you analysise your respective fitness level and program accordingly. 

Why Exercise During Pregnancy is Important

Exercise in pregnancy – benefit or risk?

How Does Endometriosis Affect Fertility and Pregnancy?

As we continue our series about endometriosis, today we address how endo might affect fertility and pregnancy.

Endometriosis Does Not Equal Infertility

Having endometriosis does not automatically mean that you will never have children. What it does mean is that you might have more trouble getting pregnant. About 30% of those with endometriosis have trouble with fertility and struggle to get pregnant. Others with endometriosis have no difficulty getting pregnant, or eventually get pregnant after utilizing medical interventions including surgery to remove endometrial growths, or reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization to help with conception.

Self Care After Cesarean Section, With an Emphasis on Baby Care Ergonomics

Today we talk about ergonomics with baby care after a cesarean section. It’s important for all new parents to conserve energy and protect their own bodies while adjusting to the care of a new baby, especially those who have had a cesarean. Today we will discuss body mechanics of picking up a baby, breastfeeding, and the like after a C-Section.

Lifting Restrictions

As a cesarean section is an abdominal surgery, your doctor will likely advise you to not lift anything over 8-10 lbs, depending on the doctor as well as the details regarding your cesarean and your personal health. Lifting restrictions typically last anywhere from 6-8 weeks. This may prevent you from lifting household items heavier than a gallon of milk… That means no carrying baskets of laundry or heavy bags of groceries.

Learn How To Strengthen The Pelvic Floor Pre And Post Baby

Tips for pregnancy and beyond

The article opens with a brief overview of the impacts of pregnancy on the pelvic floor pre and post baby:

As pregnancy progresses, and even after delivery, you may notice changes in your pelvic floor — including leaking when you cough or sneeze or pain during sex — which could be signs of weaker pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor muscles are often impacted by pregnancy, and childbirth puts considerable pressure on the pelvic floor and can cause issues long after delivery, which can in turn impact its functions and anatomy.

"Fortunately, you can strengthen pelvic floor muscles. Pelvic floor training can help your muscles cope with the demands of pregnancy and childbirth, and may also help the muscles restore themselves after injury.

Healthline reached out to Heather Jeffcoat for her advice on cycling when you are pregnant. Read on for Heather's expert advice.

Outdoor cycling safety

Taking your cycling to the street or trails is a bit more dicey than exercising indoors. That’s because there are variables you can’t control.

Physical therapist Heather Jeffcoat, DPT, agrees.

The biggest risk with cycling outdoors is the risk of falling, leading to abdominal trauma,” she says. That’s why she advises her patients to stop cycling after their first trimester.

The following are some excerpts from an article on Healthline.com which quotes Heather Jeffcoat on a number of topics related to prenatal (and postpartum) joint pain. There is a link to the full article at the bottom.

Relieving joint pain during pregnancy

Joint pain is the worst, especially during pregnancy. But the good news is there are several safe ways to find relief.

Correct postural dysfunctions

Heather Jeffcoat, DPT, owner of Femina Physical Therapy, says there are two places to start:

• correcting postural dysfunction to reduce joint strain
• ensuring adequate flexibility and strength around the affected joints

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome During Pregnancy: Tips & Tricks to Ease the Pain

International Journal of Childbirth Education, March 2010

by Heather Jeffcoat, DPT

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome during pregnancy is a commonly overlooked problem by healthcare practitioners. It presents as mild to severe pain, numbness, and sometimes weakness in the hands, wrists and forearms along the distribution of the median nerve. At times, the muscles in the forearm ache due to compensations in movement or activity that may result.

The pain can occur at night, further disrupting sleep patterns. These symptoms may arise due to postural changes, increased edema, occupational stressors, or a combination of these. Often patients are told their symptoms will resolve after delivery. Although this is usually the case, patients can perform a few simple exercises that may ease or even eliminate this pregnancy complaint.

Physical Therapy, Stretches, and Massage for Sciatic Pain, Hip Pain, and Pelvic Floor Misalignment

International Journal of Childbirth Education. September 2008

Heather Jeffcoat, DPT

Exercises for Lower Back Pain in Pregnancy

This article discusses exercises for lower back pain in pregnancy--It is a common problem but just doing a few exercises can help reduce the lower back pain in pregnancy. We know you have things to do and can't be slowed down by lower back pain! This aricle will give you helpful exercises to reduce your lower back pain in pregnancy and can be done postpartum as well.

Sciatic pain? Lower back pain? Hip pain? Any of these sound familiar? What can be done for these women suffering through one of the best times of their lives? So often the advice given is to “just get a massage.” Yes, massages feel WONDERFUL, but unfortunately many women find themselves $100 poorer (plus tip!) and still in pain several hours later. Why does this happen?

Massage techniques are essentially designed to reduce muscle spasm as well as manually stretch the muscles. But this type of treatment offers only symptomatic relief and does not always address the source of the pain. Women’s health physical therapy practitioners are trained to address the source of the pain and provide the pregnant patient with an appropriate treatment plan. Sometimes, this includes massage as a means to decrease the present muscle spasm. However, there are key exercises and education to provide your patients with that can also help so many of these women and oftentimes, prevent the pain from returning.

Laxity in Pregnancy is what may be causing you those aches and pains

The Role of the Relaxin Hormone

As discussed previously on the blog, pregnant people undergo some major changes in their bodies, including producing different hormones that play various roles during pregnancy. One hormone that affects the musculoskeletal system in a pregnant person’s body is called relaxin.

Relaxin is a hormone produced by the corpus luteum (an endocrine gland made in the ovary when a follicle has matured and released an egg during ovulation) and the placenta (an organ developed in the uterus during pregnancy that provides oxygen and nutrients to your baby). Relaxin inhibits uterine activity and helps relax the pelvic joints so your hips can widen in preparation for birth. Relaxin peaks during the first trimester. However, relaxin can also contribute to laxity in other areas of the body during pregnancy, not just the pelvis.

What is symphysis pubis dysfunction (Lightning Crotch)?

Symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD), also known as pubic symphysis dysfunction, anterior pelvic girdle pain, or lightning crotch, is a common musculoskeletal condition that is experienced by pregnant women and can vary from minor discomfort to severely debilitating pain. It is typically characterized by discomfort in the front pelvic area that can radiate to the inner thighs and perineum (think where your pubic bone is).

Wondering When To Start Exercising Postpartum? Exercise Guidelines Are Changing

Here’s Why Some Obgyns Recommend Waiting 12 Weeks After Birth To Workout

If you’ve just had a baby, you may be wondering when to start exercising postpartum. There is so much to keep up with when you have a newborn that it's only natural that exercise is often the last thing on your mind right after giving birth.

But once a little bit of a routine has set in, your body will (hopefully) give you some signs that it's time to step it up a bit:

Levator Ani Avulsion: Understand your pelvic anatomy to better understand your injury

The pelvic floor is a group of muscles positioned like a hammock along our saddle region.

The group of muscles attach from our pubic bone on the inside and then to our lateral pelvic walls with a bundle of collagen fibers called the levator arch, and attach to the ischial spines (the inside of the sit bones) and tailbone on the back side. During vaginal childbirth, the pubococcygeus muscle, a group of pelvic floor muscles, stretches 3.26 times more than its normal length to make room for the coming baby in the vaginal canal! As you can imagine, this may result in some perineal tearing and/or levator ani avulsion.

Pain, Dysfunction, and Other Pregnancy & Postpartum Issues

We can help with a large range of pregnancy and post-partum related disorders. We also offer a post-hysterectomy recovery program and many other pregnancy and non-pregnancy related services.

Pain at the pubic bone is also known as pelvic girdle pain

It is a common ailment experienced during pregnancy

In fact, in a study by Mogren (2006), 50% of pregnant women have some type of pelvic girdle pain prior to 20 weeks gestation. The pain can make daily activities like working, walking, and doing chores, painful if not impossible, and can can also negatively affect quality of life and sexual life during pregnancy (Mogren, 2006).

Do you really know what happens to your hormones during pregnancy? Do you know what hormones are in play during pregnancy?

Well, let’s go through some of the hormones and their functions during pregnancy, so you can have a better understanding of what is occurring in your body.

Yoga and Pregnancy Together Can Increase Your Quality of Life During Pregnancy and After

We offer a yoga therapy program tailored specifically to pregnancy at Femina/Fusion Wellness PT. At the end of this article is a link to more blog posts highlighting how yoga can mesh well with issues like pelvic floor dysfunction, pelvic pain, and pregnancy.

Why Integrate Yoga and Pregnancy?

Modified, gentle, and restorative yoga practices can be a fantastic addition to physical activity during pregnancy. Yoga can also give an opportunity for mamas to listen to their bodies, gain stamina and the courage needed for labor and motherhood. Whether you start practicing yoga after you get pregnant, or you already have a practice, yoga also helps you to consciously connect to the process of nature and your baby and prepare you for your birth.